WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Tuesday but have largely maintained a positive bias. With the upward move on the day, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are regaining ground following the pullback seen over the two previous sessions.
Currently, the major averages are off their highs of the session but still in positive territory. The Nasdaq is up 192.42 points or 1.2 percent at 16,211.70, the S&P 500 is up 46.49 points or 0.9 percent at 5,164.43 and the Dow is up 227.47 points or 0.6 percent at 38,997.13.
The strength on Wall Street partly reflects a positive reaction to the Labor Department's highly anticipated report on consumer price inflation in the month of February.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in February after rising by 0.3 percent in January. The increase matched economist estimates.
Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices also rose by 0.4 percent in February, matching the increase seen in January. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.3 percent.
The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth ticked up to 3.2 percent in February from 3.1 percent in January. The year-over-year growth was expected to be unchanged.
Meanwhile, the annual rate of core consumer price growth slowed to 3.8 percent in February from 3.9 percent in January. Economists had expected the pace of growth to decelerate to 3.7 percent.
While core price growth slowed by slightly less than expected, the slowdown still seems to have added to optimism about the outlook for interest rates.
'Although inflation has continued to ease, much of core inflation remains 'sticky' and isn't unwinding at a pace that would offer the Fed the confidence it needs to begin the easing cycle perhaps even in June,' said Quincy Krosby, Chief Global Strategist for LPL Financial.
She added, 'What could help underpin a move in June or July, however, is that Owners Equivalent Rent (OER) has begun to tick lower, and given its heavy weighting in the CPI a continued downward trajectory by June or July could certainly assuage Fed concerns regarding inflation remaining stubbornly higher.'
The Labor Department is scheduled to release a separate report on Thursday on producer price inflation in the month of February.
Sector News
Software stocks continue to see substantial strength in afternoon trading, resulting in a 2.3 percent surge by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.
Oracle (ORCL) has led the sector higher, soaring by 12.0 percent after reporting better than expected fiscal third quarter earnings and strong cloud revenue growth.
Considerable strength also remains visible among retail stocks, as reflected by the 1.6 percent gain being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index.
On the other hand, gold stocks have moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.4 percent.
Significant weakness is also visible among airline stocks, resulting in a 1.6 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.
Shares of Southwest Airlines (LUV) have plummeted by 14.1 percent after the airline said it is 'reevaluating all prior full year 2024 guidance, including the expectation for capital spending' due to aircraft delivery delays by Boeing (BA).
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance on Tuesday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index soared by 3.1 percent, while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index jumped by 1.0 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved lower over the course of the session after seeing early volatility. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.7 basis points at 4.161 percent.
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